Endorsing apparatus

ABSTRACT

This invention relates generally to printing apparatus and more particularly to a document or bank check endorser apparatus for printing on documents moving at high speeds in which the operating parts are combined into a self-contained, unitary assembly designed for installation as a unit in larger data processing equipment and also designed when installed for convenient access to the parts thereof for maintenance purposes. The self-contained, unitary document endorser comprises a printing assembly including a print head releasably secured to one end of a rotatable shaft and a cooperating chute gate assembly forming part of the document transport path, and further comprises an electric motor for continuously driving a fly wheel, a clutch for coupling the fly wheel to the shaft for intermittently rotating the latter and the print head, and a brake device for quickly retarding rotation of the print head upon disengagement of the clutch. The endorser is installed as a unit in supporting structure preferably with the shaft in vertical position and the head at the upper end thereof in accessible detachable for printing on documents successively fed thereby. Included in the chute gate assembly is an impression roller or platen capable of fine adjustment for equalizing the printing pressure on the documents fed thereby. Both the cabinet and the endorser unit are cooperatively designed so that the latter may be installed in either of two positions on opposite sides of the document transport path such that with slight modification of the unit for either position it is capable of printing on the front or the reverse sides of documents conveyed along the path.

United States Patent [1 1 Wallace 1 Mar. 5, 1974 ENDORSING APPARATUS[75] Inventor: Harry L. Wallace, Garden City,

Mich.

[73] Assignee: Burroughs CorporatiomDetroit,

Mich.

[22] Filed: May 4, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 250,194

- Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 835,145,June 20, 1969,

abandoned.

[52] US. Cl. 101/233, 101/91 [51] Int. CL, 841i 7/22 [58] Fieldof Search101/232-235, 91,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,575,012 11/1951 Harvey192/12 X 2,636,436 -4/1953 Mann 101/235 3,037,447 5/1962 Gonzales...101/91 3,217,639 11/1965 Kelly 101/233 3,142,246 7/1964 Ross 101/233 X3,191,526 6/1965 Ross l0l/233 X 3,438,323 4/1969' Shitzer... 101/2332,674,356 4/1954 Eason 192/181 3,242,765 3/1966- Zahn ..-74/572 .PrimaryExaminerRobert E. Pulfrey Assistant Examiner-E. M. Coven Attorney,Agent, or Firm-Ralzemond B. Parker; Ed-

win W. Uren; Kenneth L. Miller [57] ABSTRACT This invention relatesgenerally to printing apparatus and more particularly to a document orbank check endorser apparatus for printing on documents moving at highspeeds in which the operating parts are com-. bined into aself-contained, unitary assembly designed for installation as a unit inlarger data processing equipment and also designed when installed forconvenient access to the parts thereof for maintenance purposes. Theself-contained, unitary document endorser comprises a printing assemblyincluding a print head releasably secured to one end of a rotatableshaft and a cooperating chute gate assembly forming part of the documenttransport path, and further comprises an electric motor for'continuouslydriving a fly wheel, a clutch for coupling'the fly wheel to the shaftfor intermittently rotating, the latter'and the print head, and a brakedevice for quickly retarding rotation, of the print head upondisengagement of the clutch. The endorser is installed as a unit insupporting structure preferably with the shaft in vertical position andthe head at the upper end thereof in accessible detachable for printingon docuof fine adjustment for equalizing the printing. pressure on thedocuments fed thereby. Both the cabinet and the endorser unit arecooperatively designed so that the latter may be installed in either, oftwo positions on opposite sides of the document transport path such thatwith slight modification of the unit for either position it is capableof printing on the front or the reverse sides of documents conveyedalong the path.

14 (Ilaims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTED 3,795,190

SHEET 3 0F 4 FIG. 3.

1 'ENDORSING APPARATUS I CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION FORPATENT Reference is made to copending application of Harry L. Wallaceand Bruno Parysek Ser. No. 817,718, filed Apr. 21, 1969, now U.S. Pat.No. 3,557,694, and entitled Print Head Latching Mechanism, which isdirected to the print head latching provision'of the apparatus disclosedherein and which is of common ownership herewith. V

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed to that field ofart pertaining to printing apparatus and particularly to such apparatusinstalled in equipment for making printing impressions, such asendorsements, on documents fed thereby at high rates of speed.

Various attempts have been made in the past for providing apparatus-ofthis nature for printing on documents, such as bank checks, moving athigh speeds. Exemplary of such apparatus are the devices disclosed inthe US. Pat. .Nos. to Gonzalez et al., 3,037,447, Siegel, 3,039,385,Kelly, 3,164,082, and Kelly, 3,217,639 all of common ownership herewith.The first two of these patents disclose document endorsing mechanismsfor cyclical printing operations on documents, such as bank checks,which are initiated by the approach of each document to a print wheeland which include a clutch mechanism operable when activated by such anapproach to drive the print wheel through a predetermined angle ofrotation to effect transfer of the endorsement to the document as itmoves thereby.

Although the devices disclosed in these patents provide improvements inthe field of art to which this invention relates, the parts making upthe printing assemblies are disposed in relatively inaccessiblelocations in the apparatus rendering it difficult for the operator tomaintain, clean and/or replace parts. In the aforesaid Gonzalez et a1.and Siegel patents, the respective printing apparatus therein have theprint wheels and cooperating impression rollers coupled to horizontalshafts approximately midway of their lengths. In both instances theendorsing print wheels are also located below the guideway fortransporting documents and as a result are relatively inaccessible foroperator attention and adjustment. The aforesaid Kelly patent, forexample, discloses a pulsed electromagnetic device for changing thesettings of batch print wheels carried on a larger continuously rotatingprint wheel located in a relatively inaccessible position. In all threepatents, the printing assemblies is disclosed therein are driven byendless belts from relatively remote power sources.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An important object of the invention is toprovide an efficiently constructed, compact, and self contained printingapparatus for endorsing documents, such as bank checks, and foraccomplishing its function with a minimum use of movable parts.

Another important object of the invention is to provide improvedprinting apparatus of this nature which is designed in a novel manner toinclude its own source of motive power and as wellas supportingframework 2 for easy installationinto and removal from an enclosureemployed for handling and processing documents, such as bank checks, andwhich can be readily modified and positioned to serve either as a frontor rear document endorser.

A further important object of the invention is to provide improvedprinting apparatus of this nature com posed of relatively few partsphysically associated into a compact unit which when installed in acabinet presents a printing couple including a rotatable print head anda cooperating platen roller in a readily accessible location forconvenient attention by the operator.

In carrying out the objects of the invention, a printing apparatus isprovided which includes an intermittently rotatable shaft along thelength of which several operating parts of the apparatus are efficientlydistributed. At one end the shaft carrys a print head releasably andremovably locked thereon for joint rotation therewith. At anotherportion of a shaft, a fly wheel is provided which coaxially surround theshaft but is independently journaled with respect thereto and whichduring the operation of the apparatus is continuously rotated in onedirection. A clutch mechanism is utilized for operatively coupling thefly wheel to the shaft and causing rotation 'of the latter and its printhead for a predetermined angular distance, at the completion of whichthe clutch automatically disengages and frees the shaft. Operativelyassociated with a still further portion of the shaft is a brakemechanism which acts to quickly stop the s'hafts rotation once it isfree from the driving connection to the fly wheel.

The above described endorser assembly is accommo dated in a frame,preferably of general rectangular formation, which when installed in acabinet or other supporting structure for which this apparatus isdesigned will support the shaft in an upright or substantially verticalposition with the print head on the upper end thereof in operatoraccessible location. Further, the endorser assembly is rendered selfcontainable as a unit by the provision of its own source of power in theform of an electric motor mounted on the frame in compact relation withthe shaft and other parts of the apparatus; During operation of theapparatus the motor continuously drives the fly wheel in one direction.The clutch mechanism is preferably actuated to engaged and disengagedpositions by the approachof bank checks or other documents to the printhead for endorsement. Other features of the invention include the novelmounting provision which provides the optional choice of supporting theendorser unit in different positions in the cabinet for which it isintended for endorsing either the front or reverse sides of thedocuments. Another feature of the invention relates to the cooperatingprovisions for making fine adjustments of the platen roller with respectto the rotatable print head in order to equalize the printing pressuresapplied to different areas of each document fed therebetw'een.

The above listed objects, advantages and other aspects of the inventionwill be fully explained in the following detailed description. For amore complete understanding of the invention reference may be had to thefollowing detailed description in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side viewof a documentendorser mechanism embodying the invention and constructed as a selfcontained unitary assembly for convenient installation into and removalfrom a supporting structure;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the endorser unit of FIG. 1 andillustrating in full lines and in dotted outline two installablepositions of the unit in a supporting structure on opposite sides of thedocument transport path;

FIG. 3 is a detail view of the clutch mechanism employed in the endorserunit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view through the ink supply assembly of theendorser unit taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the platen roller area of theendorser unit showing' provisions for adjusting the platen roller withrespect to the path of movement of the peripheral printing face of therotatable print head;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view'of the print head and associated operatingparts of the endorser unit; 7

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view through the top portion of theendorser unit showing the manner of releasably locking the print head tothe upper end of its rotatable shaft; and

FIG. 8 is a detail of the circuit for the electric motor of the endorserunit.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference initially to FIG. 1,the invention is illustrated as being embodied in a compact, selfcontained unit designed for convenient and quick installation in andremoval from an enclosure in which other components of a largersystemare contained. For this purpose, the illustratedv embodiment includes abasic supporting structure shown herein in the form of an open framegenerally indicated at 10 and of rectangular configuration. The frame ispreferably formed of light weight material, such as cast aluminum orglass filled phenolic, and it may be molded into the shape illustratedin FIG. 1 having integrally joined horizontal and vertical sections,such as the top section 10a, bottom section 10b and the side sections100 and 10d. The frame may be cast in two substantially like halfsections secured to one another by screw members 11. In normal usage,the unit would be mounted in the vertical position shown in FIG. 1 in alarger enclosure or cabinet along with the other components of the dataprocessing system with which it is associated. FIG. 2 is illustrative ofsuch a mounting relation in a cabinet where the upper portion only ofthe unit becomes visible and accessible when a top cover plate of thecabinet is lifted.

Extending through the frame 10 of the unit, and in the vertical positionin which the frame is intended to be mounted, is a driven shaftindicated by the reference character 12. This'shaft is longer than thevertical dimension of the frame 10 and is mounted therein so that itsupper end projects above the top portion 10a of the frame and its lowerend likewise projects below the lower portion 10b of the frame. Carriedby the upper portion of the shaft above the frame is a print head 14which, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, may be of segmental construction,although for other uses it may take the shape of a full wheel carryingduplicate sets of printing elements. The print head is slidablyremovably secured to the upper end of the shaft for joint rotationtherewith as will be more fully described in connection with FIG. 7.

Coaxially surrounding another portion of the shaft, in this instance anintermediate portion thereof, is a weighted member of fly wheel 16which, as shown in FIG. ll, may occupy the lower portion of the areaencompassed by the frame 10. As will be described more fully laterherein, although the fly wheels axis coincides with that of the shaft 12it is journalled for independent rotation relative to the shaft.

Acting on the lower end portion of the shaft 12 which projects below theframe section 10b is a brake mechanism indicated generally at 18 whichserves to retard rotation of the shaft as will be fully explainedhereinafter. The brake mechanism is herein shown as a coiled,

torsion spring 20 whose individual convolutions closely encircle theshaft in frictional engagement therewith. The opposite ends 21-2l of thebrake spring are shown as extending laterally therefrom and past theopposite sides of a depending post 22 secured to the underside of theframe.v By virtue of the spring tension tending to further collapse itscoil upon the shaft, the two ends 2l21 grippingly engage the post andthereby act to hold the ends from sliding therealong Preferably, thebrake encircled end of the shaft 12 is fitted with a bushing 24 slidablykeyed thereto which is composed of wear resistant material. The shaft 12may have its lower extremity designed to form a shoulder for holding thebrake spring onto the shaft as well as secure the bushing in place, andfor this purpose a locking ring or the nut 25 may be employed. The post22 may be secured by a bolt 26 having an oversized head and the post maybe oval or elliptical in cross section so that it may be rotatablyadjusted about its axis to vary the spread of the ends of the brakespring 20 and thus its gripping engagement on the bushing 24. Flat wirestock has been found to be very satisfactory for the brake spring.

Suspended below the frame 10 is a source of motive power in the form ofan electric motor 28 whose drive shaft 30 carries a gear wheel 32 whichmeshes with a larger gear 34 fixed to the underside of the fly wheel 16.Both the fly wheel and the gear wheel 34 are suitably journaled forrotation about the axis of shaft 12, such as by a thrust bearingassembly generally indi cated at 36. Suitable supports 38458 are shownfor mounting the motor in suspended relation to the frame 10, and inorder to reduce the overall size of the unit it is preferred that themotor be disposed in overlapping relationship to the lower end of thedriven shaft 12 as shown in FIG. 1. It is evident that upon'rotation ofthe motors armature it will drive the gear wheel 32 and that in turnwill drive the larger gear 34 and the fly wheel 16 superimposed thereon.In the operation of this printing apparatus, the motor will be set intocontinuous operation driving the fly wheel continuously in onedirection. For the particular embodiment of the invention illustratedherein, a speed of approximately 500 RPM has-been found to be verysatisfactory.

Located in the mid portion of the frame 10 above the fly wheel 16 andcoaxially surround the drive shaft 12 is a clutch mechanism generallyindicated at 40. This clutch mechanism is generally like that employedin the aforesaid referenced U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,037,447 and 3,039,385, andattention is called particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3 of the former and toFIG. 9 of the latter. Attention may be also called to the U.S. Pat. No.3,373,851 where a similar type of clutch is disclosed. With reference toFIG. 3 herein, it is noted that the clutch mechanism includes twosubstantially end abutting hubs or sleeves 42 and 44 surrounding thedrive shaft 12, the

first of which is pinned at 45 in FIG. 1'or otherwise secured to theshaft for joint rotation and the latter is free to rotate relative tothe shaft but is secured at its lower ing lateral projection 50 runningthe axial length thereof which is engagable by a retractable stop member52.

When the stop member 52 is retracted out of engagement with therojection 50 on the sleeve 48 of the clutch mechanism, the coiledspring46 contracts upon both of the hubs 42 and 44 thereby coupling thecontinuously rotating driving hub 44,to the normally stationary hub 42on the shaft 12' and causing the two hubs and the sleeve 48 to rotatejointly together and impart rotation to the shaft 12. This will rotatethe segmental print head 14 about the axis of the shaft for that periodof time that the clutch is in engaged condition. In order todisengagethe clutch and free the shaft- 12 from the the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No.3,373,851. The stop member is carried on the end of a cylindricallyshaped member 51 which enters the solenoid and functions as an armaturethereof moving to retracted position when the solenoid is energized andbeing spring urged to projected sleeve stopping position where the stopmember idler roller 66 serving to apply ink to the printing plate 61 andthe exposed characters on the wheel sets 62 and 64. After this, the nowinked print face 60 sweeps by a platen in the form of a resilient roller68 carried on the upper frame section 10a of the endorser unit andbetween which the documents are successively fed, thereby transferringto the documents the inked impressions on the plate 61 and the exposedcharacters of the wheel sets 62 and 64.

An important feature of the invention is the contribution of theendorser unit to the document transport system in the form of a shortsection thereof which is fixed to the upper end of the endorser unit andconstitutes a permanent part thereof. When the endorser unit isinstalled in an enclosure, the short transport section on the endorserunit bridges a gap intentionally provided in the longer documenttransport system of the enclosure. To this end, the top frame section10a carries two juxtaposed platelike members 71 and 72 which cooperatewith the platen roller and rotating print head. The confronting surfacesof these members extend in closely spaced apart parallel relation toprovide a guideway extending between and tangential to the roller platenand to the path of movement of print face 60 of the print head. Member70 has a rectangular opening 74 opposite to the platen roller 68 ofasize to permit the peripheral print face 60 of the print head to swingtherethrough. This enables the printing plate and the wheel sets of thehead to cooperate with the platen roller 68 to make printing impressionson a document moving through the guideway formed by the parallel members70 and 72. Member 72"is' likewise shaped with a rectangular opening andextending thereacross is the platen roller 68. As will be described moreparticularly hereinafter, the two guide members 70and 72, although theyare carried by and form part of the env dorser unit, also function aspart of the-document trans- 52 enters the path of movement of theprojection of I l the sleeve 48 to halt further rotation thereof. Theenergization and de-energization of the solenoid is controlled in thepresent embodiment of the invention by electrical switching elementssensitive to the passage of the documents or bank checks as they aresuccessively advanced toward and tangentially into the path of movementof the print head 14 to receive printing impressions therefrom. Documentsensing provisions 'of this nature are disclosed in the aforesaid U.S.Pat. Nos. 3,037,447 and 3,039,385.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 the segmentally shaped print head 14 of theillustrated embodimentof the invention is provided on its peripheralface with a printing plate 61 which may be of resilient material such asrubber or plastic adhesively secured to the arcuate surface thereof. Itis also provided with two sets of printing wheels 62 and 64 which asshown have then respective axes located in offset relation to the axisof rotation of the print head 14 but parallel thereto so as to be flushwith the printing plate 61 thereof. As the print head rotates inthedirection indicated by the arrow in FIGS. 2 and 6, the print face 60first wipes past an ink supply and transfer mechanism including an portsystem in the cabinet in which the unit is installed.

With further reference to FIG. 2 and also to FIG. 4, the inking roller66 receives itsink from a source of such material within a ink supplyunit represented by a circularly shaped housing or casing 76. Enclosedwithin the casing is a circular rotatable body 78 of porous material inwhich fluid ink is contained. A satisfactory material of this nature isthat known in the trade I as Porelon manufactured by the Johnson WaxCompany of Racine, Wis. The ink transfer roller 66 and the porous inkbody '78 are journaled for rotation about their respective axes and arecarried on a common supporting member located offset to the path ofmovement of the print head 14 as shown in FIG. 2. The transfer roller 66is journaled about an upright post 67 fixed at its lower end as shown inFIG. 4 to the inner portion of the supporting member 80, and the porousbody 78 surrounds a-hub structure 79 shaped to be slidably received andjournaled on the upright post 81 supported at its lower end on the outerportion of the common support 80. .The casing 76 has a side openingthrough which the inking body 78 projects and it is evident that inoperating position the casing is slidably received on the post 81 withthe opening facing the idler roller 66. The casing 76 is normally heldstationary on the supporting member 80 while the porous body containedtherein is rotated about the axis of post 81.

The common support 80 for the transfer roller and ink supply unit isitself swingably mounted on a vertical post 82 intermediate its length.The post 82 is-in turn secured to the outer extremity of an arm 84 whichimmediately overlies the upper section of the frame 10. The inner end ofthe arm 84 is centered for arcuate adjustment on the axis of the drivenshaft 12 upon which the ead 14 is releasably locked. The pivotalmounting of the ink supply support 80 enables it to be swung on its postin the direction to bring the transfer roller 66 into ink transferrelation with the printing plate 60 and the two sets of type wheels62-and 64 of the print head after which the support 80 is fixed inadjusted position. The adjustment of the arm 84 about the shaft 12 maybe accomplished by the provision of arcuate slots 86 formed therein andcentered on the axis of shaft 12. Suitable threaded members 88 extendthrough these arcuate slots and into threaded holes in the upper framesection a which when tightened serve to hold the support arm in adjustedposition. Certain advantages of the adjustable feature will be broughtout later herein in connection with the mounting of the endorser unit inthe cabinet structure of the system in which the unit functions.

In order to yieldingly urge the porous inking body 78 against thetransfer roller 66, the supporting member 80 is shaped in itsouter endportion with a slot 90. The lower end of post 81 enters the slot 90 andis shaped to be guided thereby for movement only in the direction of theslot. The casing 76 and its inking supply body 78 are yieldingly urgedagainst the idler transfer roller 66 by a U-shaped garter spring 92which is located in the plane of the support 80 and resilientlycontractually encircles the portion of the post 81 in the slot 90. Theopposite ends of the garter spring are attached to a bolt 94 whichtraverses member 80 and post 82 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 and isthreaded in the latter for tightening member 80 in adjusted position.The garger spring will exert a force tending to bodily shift the inksupply post 81 toward the transfer roller 66 and thus compressing theink supply body 78 against the latter. Contrary to conventionalendorsing equipment where the ink supplying elements are positivelydriven and require additional driving elements for this purpose, theidler transfer roller 66 and the ink supply body-78 of this inventionwill rotate about their respective axes only at the time that thetransfer roller is engaged by moving surfaces of the rotating printhead, otherwise these two elements of the ink supply remain stationaryduring the operation of the apparatus.

As previously mentioned, the print head 14 will usually also include twosets of printing wheels 62 and 64 in addition to the printing plate 61'as shown in FIG. 2. These wheel sets have their respective axes inoffset relation to the axis of rotation of the print head but parallelthereto and close to theperiphery of the head so that they will likewiseengage the ink transfer roller 66 as the head is rotated thereby. Oneset of print wheels,

- such as illustrated at 62, may consist of such elements bearing typefor printing dates and capable of being set to indicate the dates of acalenderyear. The other set of wheels 64 may consist of printing wheelsbearing type for printing a row of decimal numbers and being capable ofindividual rotation so that they can indicate any number from zero to amaximum determined by the number of wheels in the set. As will be laterdescribed in connection with FIGS. 6 and 7, the first set of printwheels 62 can be manually set to indicate any date of the year. As forthe second set 64, they are operatively connected to one another in sucha manner that for every revolution of a lesser significant digit wheelan incremental advancement will be made to the next higher order digitwheel. Moreover, automatic means is provided as will be describedhereinafter for incrementally advancing the number set of wheels 64 foreach rotation of the print head 14 with the result that a consecutivelydifferent number is printed on each document fed past the print head.Print wheel sets of the kind referred to are available in the trade,such as from Veedor Root Company of Hartford, Conn.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the endorser print head 14 is providedwith a bore 96 into which the upper end of the shaft 12 is slidablyreceived. The print head is' removably slidably keyed to the shaft forjoint rotation therewith such as by a flat 98 (FIG. 6) on the shaft 12which complements a corresponding flat formed on the inside of the bore.A limit ring 100 (FIG. 7) is circumferentially affixed to the shafttolimit downward slidable axial travel of the print head. For ease inassetnbly of its parts, the print head is preferably formed of twocomplementary half sections 102 and 104 secured together by a bolt 106.The printing plate 61 overlaps these two secured sections of the head.As for the two ses of wheels 62 and 64, the two halves of the head areprovided with aligned bores for receiving and mounting these wheel sets.Y

The endorsing print head 14 is preferably releasably locked to the upperend of the shaft 12 in readily accessible position for inspection andremoval and for replacement if need be. For this purpose it is desiredto use the latching device disclosed and claimed in the referencedcopending application for patent in the anmes of Harry L. Wallace andBruno Parysek, Ser. No. 817,718, filed Apr. 21, I969, now U.S. Pat. No.3,557,694. FIGS. 6 and 7 herein correspond generally toFlGS. 4 and 5respectively of this referenced patent application. Briefly, thelatching device comprises a resilient member 108 composed of a basewhich is secured to the upper end of shaft 12 and two or more similarresilient arm-like extensions ll0 1l0 integrally connected to the baseand rising upwardly from the outside margins thereof. The resilientextensions terminate in enlargements 1 12112 which may be cylindricallyor spherically shaped as shown thereby providing cam-like surfaces. Whenthe shaft is fully received in the bore 96, the resilient extensions110110 are sprung out bringing their enlargements into abuttingengagement with a bevel or chamfer 114 around the upper end of the bore96 in the print head. In this position the enlarged ends .of theextensions resist withdrawal of the print head from the upper end of theshaft.

In order to positively lock the endorser head 14 on the upper end of theshaft 12, means is provided which enters the path between theenlargements 112ll2 and acts to hold them in their spaced apartcondition seated on the chamfer 114. As illustrated herein this meanstakes the form of a vertical extending reciprocable plunger 116 ofcylindrical shaped having a cross sectional area which when insertedbetween the enlargedments of the reciprocal arms ll0--110 holds thelatter in expanded condition seated on the chamfer. The plunger isretained and guided in its reciprocal movement by a holder indicated at118 which made be formed of plastic material. The holder is shaped atone end for securement by the bolt 106 to the print head and shaped atthe other end to form a hood or partial housing 121) over the upper endof the bore 96 of the print head. The hood is provided with a holetherethrough coaxial with that of the bore 96 which receives the plunger116 and enables it to be slidably guided for vertical travel relative tothe enlargements on the ends of resilient arms 110110. In its lowerposition, as shown in FIG. 7, the plunger 116 blocks the resilient armsagainst contraction thus locking the print head to the upper end of theshaft. However, when the plunger is raised to the extent to withdraw itslower end from between the enlarged ends of the resilient arms, thelatter may be contracted toward the axis of the bore thereby cammin gtheir enlarged ends over the chamfer. This will enable the print head 14to be lifted off of the shaft and to be cleaned, reset or replaced ifneed be.

As earlier mentioned herein, the endoser unit is so mounted within anenclosure or cabinet that the upper portion thereof bearing the printhead 14, ink supply 66 and 67 and guide members 70 and 72 is the onlypart normally accessible to the operator. Usually, this area is closedby a cover member 122 shown in FIG. 7 which when in fully closed.position presents a depending abutment 124 immediately above the plunger116 acting to prevent upward movement thereof. and thus locking theprint head to the shaft. Associated with the cover 122 is a sensingdevice generally indicated at 126 which detects whether or not the coveris fully closed.

The detector herein illustrated comprises a reed switch 128 associatedwith a magnet 130, one of which is secured to the supporting structurein which the endorser unit is mounted and the other to the underside ofthe cover122. These two elements of the detector are so mounted that inthe fully closed position of the cover the magnetic field of the magnetwill spring the switch contact blades of the reed switch to closedcondition. However, when the cover 122 is raised, the influence of themagnet on the reed switch will I be reduced thereby enabling the switchcontact-elements in the switch to assume their opened condition. Thereed switch is connected into the circuitry of the motor 28 such thatwhen the cover 122 is not fully closed the reed switch will be openedand either prevent or stop the motor from operating, whereas to thecontrary when the cover is fully closed the reed switch contact elementswill likewise be closed enabling the motor to be operated.

When the cover 122is substantially lifted or swung to'a substantiallyopened position, the endorser print head 14 may be removed from theupper end of the shaft 12 by having the operator grasp with his fingersan oversize disc or ring 132 mounted on the upper end of the plunger116. By pulling up on this disc, the plunger is first lifted to clearthe lower end from between the enlarged ends of resilient arms 1101 10and then thereafter a limit ring 134 carried by the plunger abuts theunderside of the hood 1 20 thereby lifting the hood while at the sametime sliding the balance of the print head off of the shaft. In so doingthe enlarged ends of the resilient arms 110-110 are contracted towardone another by the chamfer 114 for subsequent travel through the bore96. In a similar fashion, the disc 132 may be grippedby the fingers ofthe operator to return the print head to the upper end of the shaft. Bydownward exertion of finger pressure on he disc the print head is pusheddown upon the upper end of the shaft and in so doing contractingt heresilient arms against a second chamfer 135 as they are slidablyintroduced into the lower end of the bore 96. The print head should bedepressed fully on the shaft until the enlarged ends of the resilientarms spring out and seat on the upper chamfer 114. Unless these enlargedends are fully expanded and seated on the chamfer, the plunger 1 16cannot enter therebetween, and unless the plunger is fully positionedbetween these enlarged ends the cover 122 cannot be completely closedwith the consequence that the read switch will remain open and the motor28 will not operate. This prevents the apparatus from operating if theprint head is not fully received and locked onto the shaft.

Documents to be printed upon by the print head 14 as it rotates aroundthe axis of shaft 12 are fed to and between the head and the platenroller 68 assisted by parallel guide members 70 and 72 which as-earliermentioned herein from part of the transport path through which thedocuments are conveyed. Except for these two guide members of theendorser unit, the remaining adjacent portions of the document transportpath form relatively fixed parts of the cabinet structure in which theendorser unit is mounted. The transport path of the cabinet structuremay be composed of similar, closely spaced, vertically extending sidewall ele ments 136136 between which the documents are conveyed with thesurfaces thereof extending in a vertical direction. The transport pathof the cabinet structure is interrupted intermediate its length to forma gap into which the two guide members 70 and 72 of the endorser unitare projected and positioned soas to align with the adjacent portions ofthe transport path. As

shown inv FIG. 2, one section of the transport path 138, assisted bypairs of opposed rollers 139, feeds documents to the guide members 70and 72 of the endorser while the section 140 of the transport path onthe other side of the gap conveys the documents away from the endorserunit assisted by similar pairs of rollers 139. It

is apparent that when the endorser unit is installeed in the cabinet theguiding members and 72 of its printing station contribute to thedocument conveyance system of the cabinet by effectively bridging thegap.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, guide member 70 formsthe outer end portion of a hinged arm generally indicated at 142 in FIG.5 and is shaped to form a rectangular recess opening toward the otherguide member 72. The platen roller 68 is vertically mounted in the mouthof the recess for.cooperation with the print head 14. A feature of theinvention is the provision for accurately aligning the platen roller 68with the print face of the rotatable print head 14 so that equalpressure may be applied by all the printing characters carried by thehead. This is accomplished by the adjustable provisions shown in FIG. 5for making a fine bodily adjustment of thhe platen roller in a directiontoward and away from the path of movement of the print head 14 and formaking a fine adjustment of the inclination of the axis of the platenroller. By such provisions, the pressure along any point of the linecontact between the platen roller 68 and the printing elements of theprint head 14, in the absence of a document therebetween, may be madeequal thereby providing an equal impression of all printed lines on thedocuments fed therebetween.

In achieving these advantages, the axis of rotation of the platen roller68 is mounted in eccentric relationship to the axis about which it maybe adjusted to provide the lateral bodily displacement of the rollereither toward or away from the path of movement of the print head 14.This is accomplished as shown at FIG. by mounting the resilient portionof the platen roller 68 upon a sleeve 144 which is joumaled for rotationabout the external bearingsurface of a cylindrical part 146 of anelongated vertical shaft 148 extending through the platen roller andprojecting beyond the opposite ends thereof. The cylindrical bearing 146about which the platen roller is journaled has its axis A-A eccentric tothe axis 8-8 of the shaft 148 as shown by the similarly referenced linesin FIG. 5. The'lower end of the shaft 148 has a rotating, sliding fit inthe lower part of the frame of the guide member 70 enclosing the platenroller. It is evident that upon rotation of the shaft 148 about its axisit will cause the platen roller to move bodily toward or away from thepath of movementof the print head. A slight motion of the roller willalso occur in the direction parallel to the guide members as a result ofits gyration around the axis B-B of the shaft but this will not have anyappreciable effect on the printing operation. The rotational adjustmentof the shaft 148 may be accomplished by providing a threaded extremeity150 which extends through a hole in the upper portion of the guidemember 70 and terminates in a tool receiving slot 151 for turning theshaft. Following adjustment of the shaft, it is locked in such positionon the member 70 by a nut 152 threaded to this extremity.

In order to provide the fine adjustment of the inclination of the platenroller 68 to the path of movement of the print head 14 the arm 142 ofwhich the gate member 70 is a part is pivotally mounted for rotationabout a bolt 154 (See FIG. 2) having a 'central section 155 and two endsections 156 and 157, all of different diameters. As shown in FIG. 5,the central section 155 serves as a journal bearing having an axisidentified at C about which the arm is hinged for pivotal movementenabling the guide member 70 to swing as a gate from an operatingposition shown in FIG. 5 to a retracted open position shown in dottedoutline in this Figure. The two end sections of the bolt have a commonaxis identified at D and serve as trunnions mounted in spaced journalsupports 158158 which may be cast integrally with the frame 10. It isevident from the eccentricity of axis C to axis D that upon rotation ofthe bolt 154 about axis D it will cause a gyrating motion of the journalmount 155 with the result that the arm 142 and the platen roller 68carried thereby will also partake of a slight gyrating motion varyingthe inclination of the platen roller 68 a few degrees as the pivotalaxis C of the arm is displaced about the trunnion axis D.

When suitable rotatable adjustment of the bolt has been made, it isreleaseably locked in adjusted position as shown in FIG. 2 by a nut 159threaded on end sec tion 157 of the bolt and drawn tightly down on theadjacent journal support 158.

In whatever position the bolt 154 is angular adjusted about its axis D,the arm can be swung from operating to retracted position about the axisC. In operating position, the lower end of the guide member 70 abuts anupright projecting portion 160 cast integrally with the upper section10a of the frame. Infully retracted position, the underside of thehinged arm 142 abuts the inclined surface 162 of the frame. Toreleasably lock the arm and guide member 70 in operating position, it ispreferred to employ a toggle'clamp generally indicated at 164, theclamping position being shown in FIG. 1

and an unclampedgate opened position being shown in dotted outline inFIG. 5. The toggle clamp illustrated herein is of conventional designand no further description is deemed necessary except to say that asillustrated the base 166 of the clamp is secured to the back of thepivoted arm 142 and that the foot end 168 of the clamp carries a shoe170 of resilient material which abuts the side frame section 10c in thelocked position of the clamp. The yieldable nature of the shoe providesthe added advantage of allowing guide member to give a little in theevent of a document jam at the printing station.

It, is evident that the adjusting provisions shown in FIG. 5 provideboth a fine lateral bodily variation in the operating position of theplaten roller 68 with respect to the path of movement of the print headand a fine variation of the inclination of the axis of the platen rollerto that of the print head so that equal printing pressures may beapplied over all of the area of each docu ment upon which printingpressure is exerted. These adjustments of the platen roller are readilyaccessible from the top of the cabinet structure in which the endorserunit is mounted, thus making it eay and convenient for adjustment. i

As earlier mentioned herein, the set of numerical type wheels, indicatedat 64 in FIG. 6, are incrementally advanced each time the print head 14rotates about the axis of shaft 12. This may be'accomplished in themanner illustrated in FIG. 6 by the provision of a roller 172 on theunderside of the head 14 which is attached by arm 174 to the shaft 176about which the numerical type wheels rotate. The arm and roller areyieldingly urged toward a cam 178 shown in FIG. 6 and also in FIG. 1which is fixed to an extension l0e of the frame 10. As the print headrotates the roller rides on the periphery of the cam 178, and as ittraverses the high point thereof the arm is rocked slightly first in onedirection and then in the other, which motion is conveyed to the lowestorder wheel of the set advancing it one increment. Suitable stopelements, such as shown at 180 in FIG. 1 for the date type wheels 62,may be used to prevent return rotation of any wheel incrementally movedby the rocking motion of the arm 174.

An important feature of the invention is the provision for optionallymounting the unitary printing assembly illustrated in FIG. 1 on one orthe other side of the document transport path so that the print headthereof can print on one or the other side of the documents fed alongthe path. In the environment in which the invention illustrated hereinis employed, the cabinet structure also includes an encoderschematically shown by the block E in FIG. 2. The encoder is intended toprint certain characters, usually numerical, upon the front side of bankchecks'or other documents as they are conveyed through that section 182of the transport path which in another part of the cabinet joins thetransport section 138. The encoder includes a rotatable print wheel 184and a cooperating hammer 185 for printing the coded symbols orcharacters on each document as it passes therebetween.

In certain instances, such as in foreign countries, it is desired toendorse the bank checks on the front faces thereof and contrary to thepractice in the United States of endorsing such documents on the reversesides thereof. The optional mounting feature of the present inventionenables the same printing assembly to be used for printing on either thefront or the reverse 13 faces of the bank checks fed along the transportpath 182-138-140. For the purpose of mounting the illustrated unitaryassembly in the cabinet structure, the frame is provided with severallaterally extending supporting elements which are shaped and spaciallylocated with respect tothe cabinet so as to mount the assembly in'thecabinet with the print head 14 on either one or the other side of thegap in the transport path between the sections 138 and 140-thereof.I-nthe illustrated embodiment of the invention three such lateralsupporting'elements or ears 186, 187 and 188 are employed, two on oneside of the assembly-and one on the other side as shown in FIG. 2. Theseears are secured by suitable threaded members or studs 190 to anappropriate support in the cabinet structure.

Preferably, as is shown in FIG. 2, a metallic deck or I shelf of thecabinet structure indicated at 192 is disposed on a level below that ofthe document transport sections 138 and 140 and provided with a largerectangular shaped opening 194 therein'which is of a size to accommodatethe upper portion of the unitary printing Y assembly in either 'of itstwo mounted positions in the cabinet-Referring in FIG. 2, tappedholes196, 197 and 198 are formed in the shelfvand spacially located soas to coincide'with the stud holes of the ears 186,187 and 188respectively of the frame 10. In the presently-illustrated embodimentof. the invention, the endorser unit isintroduced into the cabinet belowthe shelf l92'and raised upwardly through the opening of 194 thereofuntil the lateral extensions or cars 1'86, 187 and 188 abut theunderside of the shelf in alignment with the tapped .holes'therein.When'the studs 190 are threaded through the ears and tapped holes of theshelf ,192v the endorser unit is secured in the opening .194 withapproximately 40 percentof its vertical dimension above the shelf andthe balance thereb'elow.

The three tapped holes 196), 197. and .198 areso geometrically locatedin the shelving 192 that when the endorser unit'ismounted in theopening194 in the full line position shown in FIG, 2, its'two document guidingmembers 70 and 72 bridgethe gap in the'document transport path inalignment with sections, l38and .140 thereof. During the act orraisingthe endorser unit through the relatively narrow opening 194 of theshelving, the ink supplyassembly carried on the supporting member 80'isremoved and the arm 84 is loosened and shifted clockwise with respect toits position in FIG. 2

to bring it over. the upper frame section 10a and wholly within theopening. After the endorser'unitis mounted in the cabinet,-the arm 84 isswung back andlocked in the angular position which will bring thetransferroller ing 194 of the cabinet shelf 192. In this new positionthe inker assembly will now be on. the opposite side of the transportpath in the dotted position shown at the left in FIG. 2. Likewise, inthis reversed position, the print head14 and the shaft 12 will belocated on the left side of the transpot path as viewed this Figure. Thepositions of the two document guiding members 70 and 72 will alsoaccordingly be reversed from that shown in FIG. 2 but will still extendin alignment with theadjacent sections of the document transport path.However, the arm 142 and clamp 164 will now be located on the right sideof the transport path as viewed in this Figure. The apparatus will nowbe operable for 'endorsing the front sides of the documents conveyedalong the. transport path from encoder E.

located. Moreover, the geometrical arrangement is I such that two of thethree tapped holes in the shelving are used'again for securing the earsof the frame thereto. The two tapped holesused in either installationare'tho'se that are closest tothe transport path, namely, 196 and 198;To accommodate the" one reg maining ear and to provide securementthereof to the shelving, the latter is provided with an additional 3tapped hole 200 shown in unused full line conditionin 66 into engagementwith the type wheels 62fand64 and I the printing plate6l asthey sweep byduring rotation of the'print head. Following this the removed parts arereplaced on the member-80, In properlyv adjusted pofsition the garterspring '92 will 'yieldinglyI hold the ink i supply roller 78 against thetransfer roller 66and any shock encountered by the :two rollers willbetaken up," by the garter springdn the full line position oftheprinting assembly as shown at the right in FIG. 2, it is cap able ofendorsing the reverse sides of bank checks previously marked by theencoder assembly E and conveyed to the assembly by the section 182 and138 of the docu merit transport path.-

- I I Forendorsing the front side'sof bank checks and likedocuments,theendorser unit is rotated approximately FIG. 2. In-this reversedposition for endorsing the front sides of thedocuments the tapped hole-197 of theshelf 192 is not used. It is evident from the arrangementdescribed that in either mounted position of the endorser unit-thedisposition of the ears of the frame and the tappedholes of the shelvingare such that the document guidingmern bers 70 and 72 are in alignmentwith the transport systemin either positionand close the gap therein.

When adjusting I I tionfor either mounting arrangement with respect tothe document transportpath, consideration must be given to the directionof rotation of certain major parts.

In the right hand position viewed in FIG. 2, the fly the motor 28 ischanged to-reverse-the-direction of our I rent flow therethrough as willbe later described in connection with FIG. 8, and likewise the clutch 48is modified for operation in the reverse direction. Necessarily,

the numerical type wheel set 64 should besele'cte'd for operationcorresponding to the'di'rection of rotation of the'print'head. Theinksupply assembly is altered for either mounting position. For example,for changing 1 the endorser from the right to the left-position in F IG.

180 before being introduced upwardly through open- 2, the common supportis turned Yup side. down be'- fore placement 'on the post 82andthe' bolt94 to'which the garter spring 92 is attached is fittedintoa second holein the post 82 extending approximately to the former hole. These changescould be made in existing endorser units embodying the invention foraccommoinstallation ineither one or the other position.

endorser units'embodying this inven- For changing the motor circuit forreversing-the direction of the motors rotation, reference made be had toFIG. 8 where the two lines 202 and 204 connect to a source ofalternating current and from which branch leads 206 and 208 lead to themain winding of the motor and branch leads 210 and 212 lead to thestarting winding of the motor. An external capacitor is shown at 214 anda thermal cutoutis indicated at 216 for breaking the connection to thepower source in the event of malfunction. The circuit illustrated inFIG. 8 will provide rotation of the motor in one direction. Forreversing this direction the two leads 206 and 208 associated with themain winding are reversed with respect to the power source connections202 and 204.

It is apparent that as a result of this invention a compact, selfcontained printing apparatus has been provided which is especiallyadapted for endorsing bank checks and similar documents and which iscapable of being mounted in either one or two positions in a supportingstructure on opposite sides of document transport path. Moreover, in themounted position the printing apparatus has its operator controlledparts in readily accessible position for its attention and maintenance.In operation, the motor and the fly wheel are continuously rotated inone direction, such as at speeds of approximately 500 RPM, and the printhead is intermittently clutched to the fly wheel for distinct rapidangular motionss in timed relation to the passage of documents thereby.The provision of the fly wheel absorbs the load of the print head asitsclutched thereto and accomplishes this function with a minimal speedvariation of not more than 3 percent. The provision of the brake deviceprovides almost instantaneous stopage of themtation of the print headand its shaft following disengagement of the clutch, and the'mountingprovision for the ink supply assembly assure a correct amount of inktransfer to the print head without the necessity of the positivelydriving the rotating elements of this assembly. The provision for finelyadjusting the platen roller enables a uniform printing impression to beapplied to all areas of the documents fed to the apparatus. This featureis assisted by the parallel guide members constituting a part of theunitary printing assembly yet serving as a part of the documenttransport path when the apparatus is installed in a data processingsystem.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown annddescribed, it will be understood, of course, that it is not desired thatthe invention be limited thereto since modifications may be made, and itis therefore, contemplated by the appending claims to cover any suchmodifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In printing apparatus for endorsing bank checks and similar forms ofdocuments, in combination:

an intermittently rotatable shaft;

a print head secured to one end portion of the shaft and jointlyrotatable therewith for printing 'endorsements on bank checks as theyare sively fed thereby;

a fly wheel coaxially surrounding another portion of the shaft andhaving means connectible to a source of power during the operation ofthe apparatus so as to be continuously rotated thereby in one direction;

clutch means-for operatively connecting the continuously rotating flywheel to the shaft to drive the succes-'- shaft and the print head, saidclutch means including means operable to couple the fly wheel to theshaft to drive the latter at a substantially uniform speed and for apredetermined angular distance at the completion of which said meansuncouples the shaft from the driving connection to the fly wheel, thekinetic energy stored in the rotating fly wheel serving to drive theshaft and the print head during the time the clutch means is engaged;and brake means for stopping rotation of the shaft followingdisengagement of the clutch means, said brake I means engaging anotherportion of the shaft and being operable to stop rotation of the shaftimmedi- 2. In printing apparatus for endorsing bank checks v and similarforms of documents, in combination:

an intermittently rotatable shaft;

a print head secured to one end of the shaft and jointly rotatabletherewith for printing endorsements on bank checks as they aresuccessively fed thereby;

a fly wheel coaxially surrounding an intermediate portion of the shaftand having means connectible to a source of power during the operationof the apparatus so as to be continuously rotated in one direction;

clutch means for operatively connecting the continuously rotating flywheel to the shaft to drive the shaft and the print head a predeterminedangular distance, said clutch means including a rotatable driving anddriven parts which when engaged act to couple the fly wheel to the shaftto drive the latter and further including control means operable tocause engagement of said parts for a predetermined angular distance ofrotation at the completion of which these parts of the clutch means aredisengaged thereby freeing the shaft from the driving connection to thefly wheel, the kinetic energy stored in the rotating fly wheel servingto drive the shaft and the print head during the time the clutch meansis engaged; and

brake means for stopping rotation of the shaft following disengagementof the clutch means, said brake means contacting the shaft near the endthereof opposite to the print head and exerting a continuous dragthereon, the drag exerted by the brake means being sufficient to stopthe rotation of the shaft immediately following disengagement of theparts of the clutch means but being substantially ineffectual duringengagement of the parts of the clutch means in reducing the rotativespeed of the fly wheel thereby enabling the print head to be rotated ata substantially uniform speed throughout most of said predeterminedangular distance.

3. The printing apparatus defined in claim 1 characterized in that thebrake means is in the form of a coiled torsion spring having itsconvolutions wrapped around its end of the shaft sufficiently tightenough to quickly stop rotation thereof when the clutch means isdisengaged.

4. A compact, self-contained printing apparatus for endorsing bankchecks and similar forms of documents comprising, in combination:

a supporting frame;

a rotatable shaft substantially vertically mounted in the frame;

a print head secured to the upper end of the shaft and jointly rotatabletherewith for printing endorsements on bank checks as they aresuccessively fed thereby;

a fly wheel coaxially surrounding an intermediate portion of the shaftand journaled in the frame for rotation independently of the shaft;

an electric motor carried by the frame and operatively connected to thefly wheel so as to continuously rotate the .fly wheel in one directionduring the operation of the apparatus;

clutch means for operatively coupling the continuously rotating flywheel to the shaft to drive the shaft and also the print head apredetermined angular distance, said clutch means including rotatabledriving and driven parts which when engaged act to couple the fly wheelto the shaft to drive the latter and further including control meansoperable to cause engagement of said parts for a predetermined angulardistance of rotation of the shaft at the completion of which these partsof the clutch means are disengaged thereby freeing the shaft from suchdriving connection, the kinetic energy stored in the rotating fly wheelserving to drive the shaft and the print head at a substantially uniformspeed during the time the parts of the clutch means are engaged; and

brake means supported at'least in part by the frame for stoppingrotation of the shaft following disengagement of the parts of the clutchmeans, the brake means being operable to exert a continuous drag on theshaft sufficient to stop the rotation of the shaft immediately followingdisengagement of the parts of the cluttch means but being substantiallyineffectual during engagement of the parts of the clutch means inreducing the rotative speed of the fly wheel therebyenabling the printhead to be rotated at a substantially uniform speed throughout most ofsaid predetermined angular distance.

5. A compact, self-contained printing apparatus for endorsing bankchecks and similar forms of documents comprising, in combination:

a supporting frame;

a rotatable shaft mounted in the frame for rotation;

a print head secured to an end portion of the shaft and jointlyrotatable therewith, said head having an arcuate periphery centered onthe axis of the shaft and serving as a printing face for making printingimpressions on documents as they are successively fed thereby;

a pair of members mounted on the supporting frame in opposed, closelyspaced apart, parallelingly extending relation to one another and intangential i.

clutch means for operatively coupling the continuously rotating flywheel to the shaft to drive the shaft and also the print head apredetermined angular distance not greater than one revolution of theshaft, said clutch means including means which at the completion of saidangular distance of motion disengages and frees the shaft from thedriving connection to the fly wheel, the kinetic energy stored in therotating fly wheel serving to drive the shaft and the print head whilethe clutch means is engaged; and

brake means supported at least in part by the frame and engageable withstill another portion of the shaft for stopping rotation of the shaft,the brake means applying a continuous dragon the shaft sufficient tostop the rotation of the shaft immediately following the freeing of theshaft from the driving connection to the fly wheel but beingsubstantially ineffectual in reducing the rotation of the shaft and theprint head when the clutch means couples the rotating fly wheel to theshaft.

6. The invention defined in claim 5 characterized in that one of saidclosely spaced parallel members is mounted for retractible movement awayfrom the other member in order to increase the space therebetween.

7. ln printing apparatus for endorsing bank checks and similar forms ofdocuments, in combination:

a supporting structure;

a rotatable shaft approximately vertically mounted in the structure; aprint head secured to the upper end portion of the I shaft and jointlyrotatable therewith, said head having an'arcuate periphery centered onthe axis of the shaft and serving as a printing face;

a fly wheel coaxially surrounding a portion of the shaft on a levelbelow that of the print headand journaled in the structure for rotationindependently of the shaft;

an electric motor mounted in the structure below the -level of the printhead and operatively connected to the fly wheel so as to continuouslyrotate the fly wheel in one direction during the operation of theapparatus;

clutch means below the level of the print head for operatively couplingthe continuously rotating fly wheel to the shaft to rotatingly drive theshaft and also the print head, said clutch means including control meansfor limiting rotation of the shaft to a predetermied angular distance nogreater than one revolution thereof and for disengaging and freeing theshaft from the driving connection to the fly wheel at the completion ofsaid angular motion;

brake means supported at least in part by the structure and engaginganother portion of the shaft on a level below that of the print head toexert a continuous drag thereon, the drag exerted by said brake meansbeing sufficient to stop the rotation of the shaft followingdisengagement of the clutch means, the kinetic energy stored in therotating fly wheel being sufficient during engagement of the clutchmeans to overcome the drag of said brake means and rotate the shaft andthe print head at a substantially uniform speed for said predeterminedangular distance; 7

means mounted on the supporting structure for guiding documents along apath on the level with and tangential to the path of movement traversedby the printing face of the print head when driving torque is applied tothe shaft; and

a platen roller on the level with the print head and operativelypositioned adjacent to the tangential intersection of said paths but onthe side of the document feeding path opposite to the print head, theplaten roller being adapted to make line contact with the printing faceof the print head in the absenceof a document fed therebetween.

8. In printing apparatus for endorsing'bank checks and similar forms ofdocuments, in combination:

' a supporting structure;

a rotatable shaft approximately vertically mounted in the structure;

a print head secured to the upper end portion of the shaft and jointlyrotatable therewith, said head having an arcuate periphery centered onthe axis of the shaft and serving as a printing face;

a fly wheel coaxially surrounding a portion of the shaft on a levelbelow that of the print head and journaled in the structure for rotationindependently of the shaft;

printing pressure maybe exerted along said line contact of the platenroller and the printing face of the print head.

9. In printing apparatus for endorsing bank checks and similar forms ofdocuments, in combination:

an electric motor mounted in the structure below the level of the printhead and operatively connected to the fly wheel so as to continuouslyrotate the fly wheel in one direction during the operation of theapparatus;

clutch means below the level of the print head for operatively couplingthe continuously rotating fly wheel to the shaft to rotatingly drive theshaft and also the print head, said clutch means including control meansfor limiting rotation of the shaft to a predetermined angular distanceno greater than one revolution thereof and for disengaging and freeingthe shaft from the driving connection to the fly wheel at the completionof said angular motion; brake means supported at leat in part by thestructure and engaging another portion of the shaft on a level belowthat of the print head to exert a continuous drag thereon, the dragexerted by said brake means being sufficient to stop the rotation of theshaft following disengagement of the clutch means, the kinetic energystored in the rotating fly wheel being sufficient during engagement ofthe clutch means to overcome the drag of said brake means and rotate theshaft and the print head at a substantially uniform speed for saidpredetermined angular distance; means mounted on the supportingstructure for guiding documents along a path on the level with andtangential to the path of movement traversed by the printing face of theprint head when driving torque is applied to the shaft; platen roller onthe level with the print head and operatively positioned adjacent to thetangential intersection of said paths but on the side of the documentfeeding path opposite to the print head, the platen roller being adaptedto make line contact with the printing face of the print head in theabsence of a document fed therebetween; A first means for bodilyadjusting the position of the platen roller either laterally toward oraway from the path of movement traversed by the printing face of theprinting head; and second means for adjusting the inclination of theaxis of rotation of the platen roller whereby the platen roller may bepositionally adjusted so that an equal a supporting structure;

a rotatable shaft approximately vertically mounted in the structure;

a-print head secured to the upper end portion of the shaft and jointlyrotatable therewith, said head having an arcuate periphery centered 'onthe axis of the shaft and serving as a printing face;

a fly wheel coaxially surrounding a portion of the shaft on a levelbelow that of the print head and journaled in the structure for rotationindependently of the shaft;

an electric motor mounted in the structure below the level of the printhead and operatively connected to the fly wheel so as to continuouslyrotate the fly wheel in one direction during the operation of theapparatus;

clutch means below the level of the print head for operatively couplingthe continuously rotating fly wheel to the shaft to rotatingly drive theshaft and also the print head, said clutch means including control meansfor limiting rotation of the shaft to a predetermined angular distanceno greater than one revolution thereof and for disengaging and freeingthe shaft from the driving connection to the fly wheel at the completionof said angular motion;

brake means supported at least in part by the structure and engaginganother portion of the shaft on a level below that of the print head toexert a continuous drag thereon, the drag exerted by said brake meansbeing sufficient to stop the rotation of the shaft followingdisengagement of the clutch means, the kinetic energy stored in therotating fly wheel being sufficient during engagement of the clutchmeans to overcome the drag of said brake means and rotate the shaft andthe print head at a substantially uniform speed for said predeterminedangular distance;

means for guiding documents along a path on the level with andtangential to the path of ,movement traversed by the printing face ,ofthe print head when driving torque is applied to the shaft;

a platen roller on the level with the print head and operativelypositioned adjacent to the tangential intersection of said paths but onthe side of the document feeding path opposite tothe print head, theplaten roller being adapted to make line contact with the print face ofthe print head in the absence of a document fed therebetween;

an arm hinged to the supporting structure and having its free endswingable from an operative position adjacent to the path of movementtraversed by the printing face of the print head to a positioned spacedtherefrom;

means eccentrically mounting the platen roller on the free end of thearm for providing-bodily adjustment of the platen roller toward or awayfrom the path of movement traversed by the printing face of the printhead; and

' means eccentrically mounting the hinged end of the arm on thesupporting structure for providing adjustment of the inclination'of theaxis of the platen roller. Y

and similar forms of documents, in combination:

supporting Structure;

a rotatable shaft journaled in the supporting structure;

a print head secured to the shaft and jointly rotatable therewith, saidhead having a printing face on its periphery;

clutch means mounted in the structure for operatively connecting acontinuously rotating drive memberto the shaft to rotatably drive theshaft and the print head a predetermined angular distance not greaterthan one revolution about the axis of the shaft, said clutch meansincluding means operable at the completion of said angular distance ofmotion to disengage and free the shaft from such driving connection;

brake means supported at least in part by the structure for stoppingrotation of the shaft following disengagement and freeing of the shaftfrom connection to the continuously rotating drive member;

means carried by the structure for successively feeding documents alonga path tangentially intersecting the path of movement traversed by theprinting face of the print head;

cylindrically-shaped platen roller journaled in the structure anddisposed adjacent to the tangential intersection of said paths but onthe side of the document feeding path opposite to theprint head, theplaten roller being adapted to make line contact with the printing faceof the print head in the ab-' sence of a document fed therebetween; andeccentric means carried by the structure for providing bodily adjustmentof the platen roller laterally toward or away from the path of movementof the printing face of the print head and for providing adjustment ofthe inclination of the axis of rotation of the platen roller. 11. Inprinting apparatus for endorsing bank checks and similar forms ofdocuments, in combination:

an intermittently rotatable shaft;

a print head secured-to the shaft and jointly rotatable therewith, saidhead having a printing face on its periphery;

means for operatively connecting a continuously rotating drive member tothe, shaft to rotatably drive the shaft and the print head apredetermined angu-i lar distance about the axis of the shaft, saidmeans being operable at the completion of said angular distance ofmotion to disengage and free. the shaft from such driving connection;

brake means engageable with the shaft for stopping rotation of the shaftfollowing disengagement and freeing of the shaft from connection to thecontinuously rotating drive member;

means for successively feeding documents along a path tangentiallyintersecting the path of movement traversed by the printing face of theprint head; j

a platen disposed adjacent to the tangential intersection of said pathbut on the side of the document feeding path opposite to the print head;

an inker assembly including an ink supply roller and an ink transferroller mounted on a common support member for rotation about parallelaxes;

means mounting said common support member for adjustable movement inorder to position the ink transfer roller in intersecting relation withthe path of movement of the printing face of the print head so as totransfer ink thereto; means-mounting the ink supply roller on saidcommon support member for bodily movement toward and away from thetransfer roller; and means yieldingly urging the ink supply rollertoward and into engagement with the transfer roller. 12. Aself-contained printing apparatus for endorsing bank checks and similarforms of documents composed of parts physically and operatively combinedtogether into a unitary assembly and including, in combination:

a supporting frame;

a rotatable shaft journaled in the frame;

a print head secured to the shaft for joint rotation therewith andhaving an arcuate printing face centered on the axis of the shaft for.making printing impressions;

a fly wheel journaled on the frame;

an electric motor carried by the frame and drivingly connected to thefly wheel for continuously rotating the fly wheel in one direction;

clutch means carried by the frame including means for successivelycoupling and uncoupling the rotating fly wheel to the shaft with theresult that the shaft and the print head are rotated a predeterminedangular distance at the completion of which said means uncouples theshaft from the rotating fly wheel, the kinetic energy stored in therotating fly wheel serving to drive the shaft and the print head at asubstantially uniform speed during the time the clutch means couples thesame together;

brake means carried at least in part by the frame for stopping rotationof the shaft immediately following the uncoupling of the shaft from therotating fly wheel; and v v a pair of opposing closely spacedapart,parallelingly extending guide members stationarily mounted on saidsupporting frame in tangential relationship to the path of movement ofthe printing face of the print head and defining a guideway for.conducting documents past the head as the receive printing impressionsfrom the printing face thereof.

'13. The invention defined in claim 12 characterized in that each ofsaid pair of guide members has an aperture therein intermediate itslength and aligning generally with one another, the aperture in one ofsaid guide membersallowing the printing face of the print head toproject therethrough and traverse the same during its rotative movement,and further characterized in that a platen roller is journaled on theother guide member so that its periphery enters the aperture thereof formaking line contact with the printing face as it traverses the aperturein the said one guide member of the pair.

14. The invention defined in claim 13 characterized in that means iscarried by the supporting frame for bodily adjusting the position of theplaten roller either laterally toward or away from the path of movementtraversed by the printing face of the print head and in that furthermeansis carried by the supporting frame .for adjusting the inclinationof the axis of rotation of the platen roller.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,795,9 Dated March 5, 97

Inventor(s) Harry L Wallace It is certified that error appears in theabove-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

in the Specification: Abstract, line 21, after "the" (first occurrence)insert --print--;

line Y 22, after "detachable" insert -position--. Col. 1, line l t,after "herewith. insert the following two sentences -Reference is alsomade to applicant's application for Patent, Serial No. 250, 38, filedconcurrently with the present application, which is a division ofapplicant's parent application, Serial No. 835, 1&5, filed June 20,1969. This divisional application is directed to the mounting of theself-contained, unitary printing assembly in a cabinet structure orconsole having a cooperating v document transport path therein.--. Col.7, line 5, change "ead l t" to -head l@-- 0' Col. 8, 3 line 32', change"anmes" to names--. G01. 10, line 38, change "installeed" to-ins.talled--. Col. 12, line 23, change "eay" to --easy--. Col. 19, line37, change "leat" to --least--.

Please include the following four claims which were omitted from theprinting:

15. The invention defined in claim 1 characterized. in that the guidemember" in which said. platen roller is journaled is mounted. on thesupporting frame for retractable movement away from the other guidemember to increase thespaoe therebetween.

M PC4050 (w'sg) uscoMM-oc ooa1a-poo.

I UIS. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1 ID, 0-356-33,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,795)9 Dated 5, 97

Inventor) Harry L. Wallace Pa e 2 It is certified that error appears inthe above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

16. The printing apparatus as defined. in claim 12 characterized. inthat a roller platen is journaled. in one of said pair of guide membersfor making line contact with the printing face of the print head. as thelatter sweeps thereby, and further characterized. in that means isprovided for adjusting the inclination of the axis of the platen rollerwith respect to the axis of rotation of the print head.

17. The invention defined. in claim 13 characterized in that an arm ishinged to the supporting frame and. carries on its free end. the saidother guide member of said pair of guide members upon which the platenroller is journaled, said arm being swingable from a position in whichthe platen roller is disposed for making line contact with the printing.face of the print head. to a position in, which the pair of guidemembers are further spaced apart from one another.

l8 The printing apparatus as defined in claim 12 characterized in thatsaid. brake means exerts a. continuous drag on said shaft of such asufficient force as to stop the rotation of the shaft immediatelyfollowing the uncoupling of the shaft from the rotating fly wheel, butthe brake means being substantially ineffectual during the -'coupledrelation of the shaft to the rotating fly wheel in reducing the rotativespeed of the fly wheel thereby enabling the print head. to be rotated bythe fly wheel at said substantially uniform speedduring the time theshaft is coupled. to the rotating fly wheel.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of July 197A.

(SEAL) Attest: MCCOY M. GIBSON, JR. v: C. MARSHALL DANN AttestingOfficer Commissioner of Patents I FORM (10759) uscoMM-Dc 60876-P69 QU.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE? '99 0-386-334.

1. In printing apparatus for endorsing bank checks and similar forms ofdocuments, in combination: an intermittently rotatable shaft; a printhead secured to one end portion of the shaft and jointly rotatabletherewith for printing endorsements on bank checks as they aresuccessively fed thereby; a fly wheel coaxially surrounding anotherportion of the shaft and having means connectible to a source of powerduring the operation of the apparatus so as to be continuously rotatedthereby in one direction; clutch means for operatively connecting thecontinuously rotating fly wheel to the shaft to drive the shaft and theprint head, said clutch means including means operable to couple the flywheel to the shaft to drive the latter at a substantially uniform speedand for a predetermined angular distance at the completion of which saidmeans uncouples the shaft from the driving connection to the fly wheel,the kinetic energy stored in the rotating fly wheel serving to drive theshaft and the print head during the time the clutch means is engaged;and brake means for stopping rotation of the shaft followingdisengagement of the clutch means, said brake means engaging anotherportion of the shaft and bEing operable to stop rotation of the shaftimmediately following the uncoupling of the shaft from the drivingconnection to the fly wheel performed by the clutch means.
 2. Inprinting apparatus for endorsing bank checks and similar forms ofdocuments, in combination: an intermittently rotatable shaft; a printhead secured to one end of the shaft and jointly rotatable therewith forprinting endorsements on bank checks as they are successively fedthereby; a fly wheel coaxially surrounding an intermediate portion ofthe shaft and having means connectible to a source of power during theoperation of the apparatus so as to be continuously rotated in onedirection; clutch means for operatively connecting the continuouslyrotating fly wheel to the shaft to drive the shaft and the print head apredetermined angular distance, said clutch means including a rotatabledriving and driven parts which when engaged act to couple the fly wheelto the shaft to drive the latter and further including control meansoperable to cause engagement of said parts for a predetermined angulardistance of rotation at the completion of which these parts of theclutch means are disengaged thereby freeing the shaft from the drivingconnection to the fly wheel, the kinetic energy stored in the rotatingfly wheel serving to drive the shaft and the print head during the timethe clutch means is engaged; and brake means for stopping rotation ofthe shaft following disengagement of the clutch means, said brake meanscontacting the shaft near the end thereof opposite to the print head andexerting a continuous drag thereon, the drag exerted by the brake meansbeing sufficient to stop the rotation of the shaft immediately followingdisengagement of the parts of the clutch means but being substantiallyineffectual during engagement of the parts of the clutch means inreducing the rotative speed of the fly wheel thereby enabling the printhead to be rotated at a substantially uniform speed throughout most ofsaid predetermined angular distance.
 3. The printing apparatus definedin claim 1 characterized in that the brake means is in the form of acoiled torsion spring having its convolutions wrapped around its end ofthe shaft sufficiently tight enough to quickly stop rotation thereofwhen the clutch means is disengaged.
 4. A compact, self-containedprinting apparatus for endorsing bank checks and similar forms ofdocuments comprising, in combination: a supporting frame; a rotatableshaft substantially vertically mounted in the frame; a print headsecured to the upper end of the shaft and jointly rotatable therewithfor printing endorsements on bank checks as they are successively fedthereby; a fly wheel coaxially surrounding an intermediate portion ofthe shaft and journaled in the frame for rotation independently of theshaft; an electric motor carried by the frame and operatively connectedto the fly wheel so as to continuously rotate the fly wheel in onedirection during the operation of the apparatus; clutch means foroperatively coupling the continuously rotating fly wheel to the shaft todrive the shaft and also the print head a predetermined angulardistance, said clutch means including rotatable driving and driven partswhich when engaged act to couple the fly wheel to the shaft to drive thelatter and further including control means operable to cause engagementof said parts for a predetermined angular distance of rotation of theshaft at the completion of which these parts of the clutch means aredisengaged thereby freeing the shaft from such driving connection, thekinetic energy stored in the rotating fly wheel serving to drive theshaft and the print head at a substantially uniform speed during thetime the parts of the clutch means are engaged; and brake meanssupported at least in part by the frame for stopping rotation of theshaft following disengagement of the parts of the clutch means, thebrake means being operable to exert A continuous drag on the shaftsufficient to stop the rotation of the shaft immediately followingdisengagement of the parts of the cluttch means but being substantiallyineffectual during engagement of the parts of the clutch means inreducing the rotative speed of the fly wheel thereby enabling the printhead to be rotated at a substantially uniform speed throughout most ofsaid predetermined angular distance.
 5. A compact, self-containedprinting apparatus for endorsing bank checks and similar forms ofdocuments comprising, in combination: a supporting frame; a rotatableshaft mounted in the frame for rotation; a print head secured to an endportion of the shaft and jointly rotatable therewith, said head havingan arcuate periphery centered on the axis of the shaft and serving as aprinting face for making printing impressions on documents as they aresuccessively fed thereby; a pair of members mounted on the supportingframe in opposed, closely spaced apart, parallelingly extending relationto one another and in tangential relation to the path of movement of theprint head, said pair of members serving to guide successive documentsthrough the space therebetween as they receive printing impressions fromthe peripheral printing face of the head; a fly wheel coaxiallysurrounding another portion of the shaft and journaled in the frame forrotation independently of the shaft; means for applying a torque to thefly wheel so as to continuously rotate the same in one direction duringthe operation of the apparatus; clutch means for operatively couplingthe continuously rotating fly wheel to the shaft to drive the shaft andalso the print head a predetermined angular distance not greater thanone revolution of the shaft, said clutch means including means which atthe completion of said angular distance of motion disengages and freesthe shaft from the driving connection to the fly wheel, the kineticenergy stored in the rotating fly wheel serving to drive the shaft andthe print head while the clutch means is engaged; and brake meanssupported at least in part by the frame and engageable with stillanother portion of the shaft for stopping rotation of the shaft, thebrake means applying a continuous drag on the shaft sufficient to stopthe rotation of the shaft immediately following the freeing of the shaftfrom the driving connection to the fly wheel but being substantiallyineffectual in reducing the rotation of the shaft and the print headwhen the clutch means couples the rotating fly wheel to the shaft. 6.The invention defined in claim 5 characterized in that one of saidclosely spaced parallel members is mounted for retractible movement awayfrom the other member in order to increase the space therebetween.
 7. Inprinting apparatus for endorsing bank checks and similar forms ofdocuments, in combination: a supporting structure; a rotatable shaftapproximately vertically mounted in the structure; a print head securedto the upper end portion of the shaft and jointly rotatable therewith,said head having an arcuate periphery centered on the axis of the shaftand serving as a printing face; a fly wheel coaxially surrounding aportion of the shaft on a level below that of the print head andjournaled in the structure for rotation independently of the shaft; anelectric motor mounted in the structure below the level of the printhead and operatively connected to the fly wheel so as to continuouslyrotate the fly wheel in one direction during the operation of theapparatus; clutch means below the level of the print head foroperatively coupling the continuously rotating fly wheel to the shaft torotatingly drive the shaft and also the print head, said clutch meansincluding control means for limiting rotation of the shaft to apredetermied angular distance no greater than one revolution thereof andfor disengaging and freeing the shaft from the driving connection to thefly wheel at the completion oF said angular motion; brake meanssupported at least in part by the structure and engaging another portionof the shaft on a level below that of the print head to exert acontinuous drag thereon, the drag exerted by said brake means beingsufficient to stop the rotation of the shaft following disengagement ofthe clutch means, the kinetic energy stored in the rotating fly wheelbeing sufficient during engagement of the clutch means to overcome thedrag of said brake means and rotate the shaft and the print head at asubstantially uniform speed for said predetermined angular distance;means mounted on the supporting structure for guiding documents along apath on the level with and tangential to the path of movement traversedby the printing face of the print head when driving torque is applied tothe shaft; and a platen roller on the level with the print head andoperatively positioned adjacent to the tangential intersection of saidpaths but on the side of the document feeding path opposite to the printhead, the platen roller being adapted to make line contact with theprinting face of the print head in the absence of a document fedtherebetween.
 8. In printing apparatus for endorsing bank checks andsimilar forms of documents, in combination: a supporting structure; arotatable shaft approximately vertically mounted in the structure; aprint head secured to the upper end portion of the shaft and jointlyrotatable therewith, said head having an arcuate periphery centered onthe axis of the shaft and serving as a printing face; a fly wheelcoaxially surrounding a portion of the shaft on a level below that ofthe print head and journaled in the structure for rotation independentlyof the shaft; an electric motor mounted in the structure below the levelof the print head and operatively connected to the fly wheel so as tocontinuously rotate the fly wheel in one direction during the operationof the apparatus; clutch means below the level of the print head foroperatively coupling the continuously rotating fly wheel to the shaft torotatingly drive the shaft and also the print head, said clutch meansincluding control means for limiting rotation of the shaft to apredetermined angular distance no greater than one revolution thereofand for disengaging and freeing the shaft from the driving connection tothe fly wheel at the completion of said angular motion; brake meanssupported at leat in part by the structure and engaging another portionof the shaft on a level below that of the print head to exert acontinuous drag thereon, the drag exerted by said brake means beingsufficient to stop the rotation of the shaft following disengagement ofthe clutch means, the kinetic energy stored in the rotating fly wheelbeing sufficient during engagement of the clutch means to overcome thedrag of said brake means and rotate the shaft and the print head at asubstantially uniform speed for said predetermined angular distance;means mounted on the supporting structure for guiding documents along apath on the level with and tangential to the path of movement traversedby the printing face of the print head when driving torque is applied tothe shaft; a platen roller on the level with the print head andoperatively positioned adjacent to the tangential intersection of saidpaths but on the side of the document feeding path opposite to the printhead, the platen roller being adapted to make line contact with theprinting face of the print head in the absence of a document fedtherebetween; first means for bodily adjusting the position of theplaten roller either laterally toward or away from the path of movementtraversed by the printing face of the printing head; and second meansfor adjusting the inclination of the axis of rotation of the platenroller whereby the platen roller may be positionally adjusted so that anequal printing pressure may be exerted along said line contact of theplaten roller and the printinG face of the print head.
 9. In printingapparatus for endorsing bank checks and similar forms of documents, incombination: a supporting structure; a rotatable shaft approximatelyvertically mounted in the structure; a print head secured to the upperend portion of the shaft and jointly rotatable therewith, said headhaving an arcuate periphery centered on the axis of the shaft andserving as a printing face; a fly wheel coaxially surrounding a portionof the shaft on a level below that of the print head and journaled inthe structure for rotation independently of the shaft; an electric motormounted in the structure below the level of the print head andoperatively connected to the fly wheel so as to continuously rotate thefly wheel in one direction during the operation of the apparatus; clutchmeans below the level of the print head for operatively coupling thecontinuously rotating fly wheel to the shaft to rotatingly drive theshaft and also the print head, said clutch means including control meansfor limiting rotation of the shaft to a predetermined angular distanceno greater than one revolution thereof and for disengaging and freeingthe shaft from the driving connection to the fly wheel at the completionof said angular motion; brake means supported at least in part by thestructure and engaging another portion of the shaft on a level belowthat of the print head to exert a continuous drag thereon, the dragexerted by said brake means being sufficient to stop the rotation of theshaft following disengagement of the clutch means, the kinetic energystored in the rotating fly wheel being sufficient during engagement ofthe clutch means to overcome the drag of said brake means and rotate theshaft and the print head at a substantially uniform speed for saidpredetermined angular distance; means for guiding documents along a pathon the level with and tangential to the path of movement traversed bythe printing face of the print head when driving torque is applied tothe shaft; a platen roller on the level with the print head andoperatively positioned adjacent to the tangential intersection of saidpaths but on the side of the document feeding path opposite to the printhead, the platen roller being adapted to make line contact with theprint face of the print head in the absence of a document fedtherebetween; an arm hinged to the supporting structure and having itsfree end swingable from an operative position adjacent to the path ofmovement traversed by the printing face of the print head to apositioned spaced therefrom; means eccentrically mounting the platenroller on the free end of the arm for providing bodily adjustment of theplaten roller toward or away from the path of movement traversed by theprinting face of the print head; and means eccentrically mounting thehinged end of the arm on the supporting structure for providingadjustment of the inclination of the axis of the platen roller.
 10. Inprinting apparatus for endorsing bank checks and similar forms ofdocuments, in combination: supporting structure; a rotatable shaftjournaled in the supporting structure; a print head secured to the shaftand jointly rotatable therewith, said head having a printing face on itsperiphery; clutch means mounted in the structure for operativelyconnecting a continuously rotating drive member to the shaft torotatably drive the shaft and the print head a predetermined angulardistance not greater than one revolution about the axis of the shaft,said clutch means including means operable at the completion of saidangular distance of motion to disengage and free the shaft from suchdriving connection; brake means supported at least in part by thestructure for stopping rotation of the shaft following disengagement andfreeing of the shaft from connection to the continuously rotating drivemember; means carried by the structure for successively feedingdocuments along a path tangentIally intersecting the path of movementtraversed by the printing face of the print head; a cylindrically-shapedplaten roller journaled in the structure and disposed adjacent to thetangential intersection of said paths but on the side of the documentfeeding path opposite to the print head, the platen roller being adaptedto make line contact with the printing face of the print head in theabsence of a document fed therebetween; and eccentric means carried bythe structure for providing bodily adjustment of the platen rollerlaterally toward or away from the path of movement of the printing faceof the print head and for providing adjustment of the inclination of theaxis of rotation of the platen roller.
 11. In printing apparatus forendorsing bank checks and similar forms of documents, in combination: anintermittently rotatable shaft; a print head secured to the shaft andjointly rotatable therewith, said head having a printing face on itsperiphery; means for operatively connecting a continuously rotatingdrive member to the shaft to rotatably drive the shaft and the printhead a predetermined angular distance about the axis of the shaft, saidmeans being operable at the completion of said angular distance ofmotion to disengage and free the shaft from such driving connection;brake means engageable with the shaft for stopping rotation of the shaftfollowing disengagement and freeing of the shaft from connection to thecontinuously rotating drive member; means for successively feedingdocuments along a path tangentially intersecting the path of movementtraversed by the printing face of the print head; a platen disposedadjacent to the tangential intersection of said path but on the side ofthe document feeding path opposite to the print head; an inker assemblyincluding an ink supply roller and an ink transfer roller mounted on acommon support member for rotation about parallel axes; means mountingsaid common support member for adjustable movement in order to positionthe ink transfer roller in intersecting relation with the path ofmovement of the printing face of the print head so as to transfer inkthereto; means mounting the ink supply roller on said common supportmember for bodily movement toward and away from the transfer roller; andmeans yieldingly urging the ink supply roller toward and into engagementwith the transfer roller.
 12. A self-contained printing apparatus forendorsing bank checks and similar forms of documents composed of partsphysically and operatively combined together into a unitary assembly andincluding, in combination: a supporting frame; a rotatable shaftjournaled in the frame; a print head secured to the shaft for jointrotation therewith and having an arcuate printing face centered on theaxis of the shaft for making printing impressions; a fly wheel journaledon the frame; an electric motor carried by the frame and drivinglyconnected to the fly wheel for continuously rotating the fly wheel inone direction; clutch means carried by the frame including means forsuccessively coupling and uncoupling the rotating fly wheel to the shaftwith the result that the shaft and the print head are rotated apredetermined angular distance at the completion of which said meansuncouples the shaft from the rotating fly wheel, the kinetic energystored in the rotating fly wheel serving to drive the shaft and theprint head at a substantially uniform speed during the time the clutchmeans couples the same together; brake means carried at least in part bythe frame for stopping rotation of the shaft immediately following theuncoupling of the shaft from the rotating fly wheel; and a pair ofopposing closely spaced apart, parallelingly extending guide membersstationarily mounted on said supporting frame in tangential relationshipto the path of movement of the printing face of the print head anddefining a guideway for conducting documents past The head as thereceive printing impressions from the printing face thereof.
 13. Theinvention defined in claim 12 characterized in that each of said pair ofguide members has an aperture therein intermediate its length andaligning generally with one another, the aperture in one of said guidemembers allowing the printing face of the print head to projecttherethrough and traverse the same during its rotative movement, andfurther characterized in that a platen roller is journaled on the otherguide member so that its periphery enters the aperture thereof formaking line contact with the printing face as it traverses the aperturein the said one guide member of the pair.
 14. The invention defined inclaim 13 characterized in that means is carried by the supporting framefor bodily adjusting the position of the platen roller either laterallytoward or away from the path of movement traversed by the printing faceof the print head and in that further means is carried by the supportingframe for adjusting the inclination of the axis of rotation of theplaten roller.